Queen “The Game” released 40 years ago today, June 30th, 1980. The Game was Queen’s eighth studio LP and the only one to hit #1 in the US (interestingly, it went to #8 on the US R&B chart and, not surprisingly, also went to #1 in the UK). It was their first album to use synthesizers and, at least according to the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, was the first where the band consciously wrote songs to dance to (“Disco? Queen doesn’t do disco!”). The first single from The Game was “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a rockabilly-ish track that for a looonggg time I never believed was Queen (in fact, I still find it somewhat disconcerting). It went to #2 in the UK and became Queen’s first #1 song in the US. The second single released was “Save Me” and went to #11 in the UK; I don’t think it charted in the US. “Play the Game,” the lead track on The Game, was the third single and it’s here that Queen unabashedly introduces synths for the first time. It charted at #14 in the UK and #42 in the US. The fourth single, “Another One Bites the Dust,” is the one where the disco quote comes from in the movie, the deep bass-line utterly addictive and danceable and was a massive hit, going to #1 in the US where it remained for three weeks and spent a total of 15 weeks in the Top 10; it went to #7 in the UK and ultimately would be Queen’s best-selling single. It’s also the song that I first remember actually hearing by Queen (I’m sure I heard others before but I was pretty young) at 9 years old during the summer of 1980 while at camp. With equal fondness I also remember Weird Al’s spoof, “Another One Rides the Bus.” The final single from The Game was “Need Your Loving Tonight” which was only released in the US and Japan; it went to #44 in the US.